This weekend Allison and I went to Maine to Moosehead Lake. We stayed at the Evergreen Lodge in Greenville, Maine. Population: 250, Moose Population: 2000. How many moose did we see? 0. Despite the lack of moose viewing we had a great time.
We drove up to Maine via Freeport on Friday morning. Stopping in Freeport we checked out L.L.Bean and a couple of shops. Had some lunch and got back on the road. We arrived at the Evergreen Lodge around 3:00pm Friday afternoon. Once we got settled in and met our hosts, Janice and Hank, we headed out to drive around the lake and see if we could see some moose. No moose but we found the Black Frog restaurant. We had a great dinner and saw the Red Sox win their series. Then we went back to the Evergreen Lodge and chatted with some of the other guests, Terry and Jim from Florida and Mike and Patti from Washington State.
On Saturday we had the first of three mornings of great breakfasts prepared by Janice. We had a cherry cobbler and French toast and bacon that morning. There were 5 other couples in the lodge. We had breakfast with Mike and Patti and Don and Carol. The breakfast area had two tables for six people each and we ate with the other guests each morning to talk about what we would do during the coming day.
After breakfast, Allison and I went up to hike a trail where a B-52 Bomber crashed on a training run in 1963. What an incredible and moving site to see. The plane basically blew into a million pieces and are strewn all over this mountain. There is a memorial and the air force is leaving the wreckage and not salvaging anything. About 5 years ago a ski mobile club got together to build and maintain a memorial to the crew of six and three observers who were aboard the plane. Only three people ejected from the plane. Two survived and the third hit a tree and died. The rest of the crew and observers all died. The two survivors spent the night in -30 degree weather and blizzard conditions.
After our hike to the B-52 bomber site we went back to town for lunch at the Stress Free Moose. They make some very tasty and huge sandwiches.
After lunch Allison and I headed to Lily Bay state park to go Kayaking. Moosehead lake had similar conditions to that of the ocean. It is choppy and windy and wavy. We started out on a calm little inlet but then moved out to the open water to explore some islands. The paddle out was fun because the wind was at our backs and we cruised along. But when we turned around it was very very windy and choppy. Some paddling was done just to maintain position and we quickly were pushed back once we stopped paddling.
When we got back to shore we loaded up the boats and then got ready to leave. Allison was on the passenger side of the car and I was on the drivers side. I went to the trunk and got out the hiking backpack and put it down by the back wheel and kneeled down to get something out of the bag. Allison asked what I was doing and I told her, "come here, you gotta check this out." She said, "What is it, if it is some bug or something I'm gonna kick you." I assured her that it was not a bug and as she came around the back of the car I had finished getting the little white box out of the backpack.
Just as Allison came around the trunk I opened the box to reveal an antique looking engagement ring. I said, "I love you very much and would like to spend the rest of my life with you." Allison was a little beside herself and I stood up and put the ring on her finger and I asked, "Will you marry me?" Allison said, "Let me think about it..." and then quickly said "Yes!"
Gotta love that sense of humor.
We headed back to the Evergreen Lodge and got our dinner check from Janice. (The package was for three nights, breakfast each morning and one dinner.) We went to Kelly's Landing for dinner. A very nice establishment. We also made some phone calls to family to tell them the good news. Only our parents and siblings because of the roaming charges and lack of cell phone support throughout the state of Maine.
The next morning we had another great breakfast and then headed to Moxie Falls for a hike. The drive out to Moxie falls was a 16 mile dirt road. Being in a Honda Civic with two boats on the roof driving on a bumpy dusty dirt road is quite the adventure. When we got to Moxie Falls we were pretty well bounced. The falls are the largest waterfall system in Maine, and it was a beautiful site. After the falls we headed back to town and did some shopping after lunch at Flatlanders. We shoulda gotten the broasted chicken.
Then we went back to the Evergreen Lodge and got a quick nap. We were tired because Allison was so wired from the night before that she woke up at 4:00am in the morning and didn't get back to sleep till 5:00am. After a nap we went out for the best burgers in Greenville at The Rod and Reel. Then back to the Lodge where we took a look at the photos that Terry and Jim had taken of Moose on their moose safari on the lake. The got some beautiful pictures of two bulls in an inlet on the lake.
On our last day at the Evergreen Lodge we met some very nice people who came the night before and had a great conversation that morning. Then we packed up the car and headed back to New Hampshire for dinner with Marcia and Dan and Andy and Denise. We stopped in Freeport again and went to the L.L.Bean factory store which was an insane nightmare of tourists ten deep at the registers. I picked up a nice leather jacked at the Wilsons outlet for a steal and then we went to Gritty MacDuffs for a light lunch.
The ride home was filled with calls to many of Allison's friends and some of my relatives. We made it to Manchester for 4:30pm and had a nice dinner with our parents. The chaos of wedding planning is just beginning. I am going to add a wedding plans F.A.Q. to this site very soon. The major answer is: No we have not set a date. Pictures to follow from the weekend and of course of the ring.
We drove up to Maine via Freeport on Friday morning. Stopping in Freeport we checked out L.L.Bean and a couple of shops. Had some lunch and got back on the road. We arrived at the Evergreen Lodge around 3:00pm Friday afternoon. Once we got settled in and met our hosts, Janice and Hank, we headed out to drive around the lake and see if we could see some moose. No moose but we found the Black Frog restaurant. We had a great dinner and saw the Red Sox win their series. Then we went back to the Evergreen Lodge and chatted with some of the other guests, Terry and Jim from Florida and Mike and Patti from Washington State.
On Saturday we had the first of three mornings of great breakfasts prepared by Janice. We had a cherry cobbler and French toast and bacon that morning. There were 5 other couples in the lodge. We had breakfast with Mike and Patti and Don and Carol. The breakfast area had two tables for six people each and we ate with the other guests each morning to talk about what we would do during the coming day.
After breakfast, Allison and I went up to hike a trail where a B-52 Bomber crashed on a training run in 1963. What an incredible and moving site to see. The plane basically blew into a million pieces and are strewn all over this mountain. There is a memorial and the air force is leaving the wreckage and not salvaging anything. About 5 years ago a ski mobile club got together to build and maintain a memorial to the crew of six and three observers who were aboard the plane. Only three people ejected from the plane. Two survived and the third hit a tree and died. The rest of the crew and observers all died. The two survivors spent the night in -30 degree weather and blizzard conditions.
After our hike to the B-52 bomber site we went back to town for lunch at the Stress Free Moose. They make some very tasty and huge sandwiches.
After lunch Allison and I headed to Lily Bay state park to go Kayaking. Moosehead lake had similar conditions to that of the ocean. It is choppy and windy and wavy. We started out on a calm little inlet but then moved out to the open water to explore some islands. The paddle out was fun because the wind was at our backs and we cruised along. But when we turned around it was very very windy and choppy. Some paddling was done just to maintain position and we quickly were pushed back once we stopped paddling.
When we got back to shore we loaded up the boats and then got ready to leave. Allison was on the passenger side of the car and I was on the drivers side. I went to the trunk and got out the hiking backpack and put it down by the back wheel and kneeled down to get something out of the bag. Allison asked what I was doing and I told her, "come here, you gotta check this out." She said, "What is it, if it is some bug or something I'm gonna kick you." I assured her that it was not a bug and as she came around the back of the car I had finished getting the little white box out of the backpack.
Just as Allison came around the trunk I opened the box to reveal an antique looking engagement ring. I said, "I love you very much and would like to spend the rest of my life with you." Allison was a little beside herself and I stood up and put the ring on her finger and I asked, "Will you marry me?" Allison said, "Let me think about it..." and then quickly said "Yes!"
Gotta love that sense of humor.
We headed back to the Evergreen Lodge and got our dinner check from Janice. (The package was for three nights, breakfast each morning and one dinner.) We went to Kelly's Landing for dinner. A very nice establishment. We also made some phone calls to family to tell them the good news. Only our parents and siblings because of the roaming charges and lack of cell phone support throughout the state of Maine.
The next morning we had another great breakfast and then headed to Moxie Falls for a hike. The drive out to Moxie falls was a 16 mile dirt road. Being in a Honda Civic with two boats on the roof driving on a bumpy dusty dirt road is quite the adventure. When we got to Moxie Falls we were pretty well bounced. The falls are the largest waterfall system in Maine, and it was a beautiful site. After the falls we headed back to town and did some shopping after lunch at Flatlanders. We shoulda gotten the broasted chicken.
Then we went back to the Evergreen Lodge and got a quick nap. We were tired because Allison was so wired from the night before that she woke up at 4:00am in the morning and didn't get back to sleep till 5:00am. After a nap we went out for the best burgers in Greenville at The Rod and Reel. Then back to the Lodge where we took a look at the photos that Terry and Jim had taken of Moose on their moose safari on the lake. The got some beautiful pictures of two bulls in an inlet on the lake.
On our last day at the Evergreen Lodge we met some very nice people who came the night before and had a great conversation that morning. Then we packed up the car and headed back to New Hampshire for dinner with Marcia and Dan and Andy and Denise. We stopped in Freeport again and went to the L.L.Bean factory store which was an insane nightmare of tourists ten deep at the registers. I picked up a nice leather jacked at the Wilsons outlet for a steal and then we went to Gritty MacDuffs for a light lunch.
The ride home was filled with calls to many of Allison's friends and some of my relatives. We made it to Manchester for 4:30pm and had a nice dinner with our parents. The chaos of wedding planning is just beginning. I am going to add a wedding plans F.A.Q. to this site very soon. The major answer is: No we have not set a date. Pictures to follow from the weekend and of course of the ring.